Test drive: 2007 Ford Mustang GT California Special
Tuesday May 29, 2007
I spent the past couple of weeks with a pair of Mustangs, one of which was the 500 horsepower supercharged Shelby GT500. Before spending a week with the Shelbeast, I decided it would be a good idea to get re-acquainted with the 300 horsepower V8-powered Mustang GT. The car with which Ford supplied me had the new-for-2007 California Special appearance package; its one of a handful of special-edition Mustangs planned to keep interest in the venerable pony car alive and well. So how was the Mustang GT? That depends on who in my household you ask. Check out my 2007 Ford Mustang GT California Special test drive for the details -- and look for my Shelby GT500 test drive in the next day or two. -- Aaron Gold
Photo © Aaron Gold
About time, Aaron!
When are people going to quit comparing the Mustang GT to those little tin-bucket FWD and Japanese cars? They are simply not in the same category. Guys (and Gals) that buy Mustang GT’s are looking for a different driving experience…the same experience, I think Aaron, that makes you still want to buy one in spite of your personal observations. As for the V6, they do not provide quite that experience either. Finally, my GT (Actually a Shelby GT) is getting over 18 mpg in my “around town” and over 27 on a trip. I think this is excellent considering what this car gives back.
Why would you want to quit comparing them? If you have $X in your pocket and you are going to buy a *car*…(that’s what we’re talking about here right?) wouldn’t an intelligent being compare the available alternatives?
to Guy Manly – the cars he is using as a comparison should be compared to a Ford Focus, if there were a current higher-performance model – not a Mustang GT. When the Camaro and Challenger arrive, those will be proper comparisons.
Well said Bob. Mustang owns it’s niche and currently nothing really compares.
Re: V6 Mustangs…There’s nothing else in this niche. Mustang owns it.
C
You evidently have the WRONG questions to ask about this car, trunk space? gas mileage? maybe you should get the sheet that asks fast? very good looking? fun?
You must be gay (and surely not a car guy) if you say that you would choose a V6 Mustang over the GT. That’s just ridiculous.
Hey “bushjam” (no comment on what that might mean). Watch it! I’m gay and would never buy a V6 Mustang or even the claustrophobic hard top. V8 Convertible is the only way to go.
Ok, how cool is that?!?! I love the mustang, but who knew that they would bring back the old california special package?! Some day me and my old man will have a mustang GT convertible with the california special package sitting in our driveway. It will have an automatic since my old man can’t drive stick-shift. It will also have a GPS, red seats, and an MP3 player and a remote starter. I also know that there is a website all about mustangs. Just go to google and type mustang world.
Bushjam: You must be compensating for something if you’d dismiss the V6 Mustang out of hand just because its a V6. Its output is comparable to Mustang GTs of a few years ago. 210 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque will really move the Mustang, and the differences in insurance costs can be huge. At $20k it’s a great deal, too. $27k for the V8? Not so much.
very nice, but still not enough to sway me from the Corvette…
This mustang is truly a “niche” car. Legitimately it can only be compared to other upcoming “Pony Cars”…however it can also be considered and compared on it’s utility, mystique and comfort as an everyday driver. I will always love and respect the mustang for what it originally was…fun, fast and furious(especially my old Mach 1 428scj)…but I also understand and appreciate today’s mustang for what it is…a mix of retro and reasonable utility and a loving statement by many, for days gone by.
OK Aaron, I can appreciate most of what you wrote in this article. But please! Comparing the Mustang to a Sentra, a Civic or A Cobalt Are you kidding me? Next time maybe you need to leave your wife at home on the test drive! Don’t let the feminine side of you write about a truly masculine car. The Mustang cannot be compared these other cars as it is in class of it’s own. These kind of critiques make you look like an airhead. Get a clue about what you are writing and get your facts straight.
Jerry —
Spoken like someone who hasn’t driven the latest iterations of the Sentra SE-R Spec V, Civic Si or Cobalt SS Supercharged. I’ve driven all three on the street and on the track. If you want to impress the girls — or at the very least the guys — then a Mustang GT will probably do the trick. But if you want to get from Point A to Point B as rapidly as possible — and if the road on which you will be driving isn’t perfectly straight — then the modern technology of the SE-R, Si and SS will do the job better, faster, and on less fuel… regardless of the gender of the driver. Those are the facts, and I assure you, they are perfectly straight.
Aaron
You need to do another comaprison when the Camaro and Challenger come out. You are so right , the Mustang is NOT a family car, why are you comparing it to some that are. Your mileage is not close to my actual and the trunk actually has much more space without the goofy speakers in there(optional). The feeling and excitement I get driving my GT/CS is more euphoric than any of the other cars you listed, and thats why people buy Mustangs…….
HUH,
Well Aaron I don’t give a damn about the latest iterations of those ricers.. and its apparent the rest of the pople who left comments DON’T care as well. They just are not sports cars and have no business being compared to a mustang V6 or not. And Bob is right no matter what the configuration of engine vs. mileage the Mustang gives back soo much more. All im saying is compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges, much like the wacky comparison of the EVO TO Shelby a while back…
Oh and I just loved the suspension write up you did apparently your used to AWD and FWD cars, well it takes someone with driving skill to get a live rear axled vehicle car through a corner without “spinning out” And for a solid axle with a 4 link suspension with coils, thats as good as it gets, sorry no more gay independent junk like on the 03 04 Cobras…
In all i just find you reviews to be in general lame and uninspiring. And time after time you lean towards the imports.
Whats up with that?
Rant over.
M.M.
The fact that this package would even be considered just shows that Mustang buyers are into the car mainly for appearances. Otherwise why pay $1800 plus for stuff that actually makes the car slower?
I like waffles.
Matt –
Independent rear suspensions are better. Period. It has nothing to do with driver skill, and it has nothing to do with whether the car has front, rear or all-wheel-drive. With a live axle, a bump on one side disrupts traction on the other side by tilting the wheel and making the contact patch smaller. Furthermore, an IRS gives the engineers better control of how the tire contacts the road as the suspension extends and compresses. The only reason the GT500 has a live axle instead of an IRS is because the live axle is cheaper. Note that the Ford GT, in which cost wasn’t an object, didn’t have a live axle. When Porsche, Ferarri, Lamborghini, Lotus and the like start fitting live axles to their cars in place of IRS, then maybe I’ll buy the argument that a live axle is better.
Aaron
Hi Aaron yep sorry to say sounds like i half to agree with most of the guys here. guess you like imports and G. M. stuff a little more than the mustangs. but i will agree with you on the v 6 stang . its a lot of car for the money. the insurance is a lot cheaper too,even FOR US OLDER GUYS .
Oh, you insecure, xenophobic fools… I can’t believe you attach a sexual preference to a piece of engineering. It’s a suspension system for god’s sake — there’s nothing effeminate, nothing man-loving about IRS. To think so only highlights your pathetic need to attach masculinity to your traditional longings. To say that “ricers” aren’t real sports cars is silly. Prove it on the track, and I’m sure your excuse for slowness will be something to do with “gayness”.
When you buy a performance car, it’s a visceral thing. It has to do something for you. The looks, the sounds, the feel when you floor it or take a curve, everything has to reward you. I think the Mustang does this better than any of the aforementioned cars in this article.
I own a Mustang GT/SC convertible and never considered any of the other cars mentioned, and I’m sure the vast majority of Mustang owners didn’t either.
So why are they even compared?
Race all of them side by side non-stop and see who stands when all others fail…Reliability wasn’t considered…
Al, you make a good point — one of the things I like best about the Mustang is the muscle-car feel it has. This is something I talk more about in my Shelby GT test drive. Still, if the object is to get from Point A to Point B in as little time as possible — and the road between A and B has lots of sharp bends — the Mustang wouldn’t be my first choice.
Cars, you can probably tell from the fact that I didn’t go for the coupe that handling wasn’t at the top of my list. No doubt that these pocket rockets are superior in that department. I’ll stand with my point that as far as “grin factor” goes, the Mustang does it for me. Differences in tastes is what makes the performance automobile scene so interesting. Just one guy’s opinion.